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Featured Comment by Scott: "This cover really struck home, I am, amongst other things, a fully licensed commercial ship captain. I actually did a charter in the Caribbean last week with 16 guests all from one family. The number of photos I could have taken that replicated the above scene exactly were staggering."

Featured Comment by Elisabeth: "The optimist in me is imagining that everyone in the picture is a photo enthusiast, with the four subjects of the first photographer focused on taking artsy photos of the shadow in the sand. The teen on the right is just chimping so that he can perfect the shot on his next try. Then they will all pass around their mobile phones and enjoy a real family moment of bonding over their shared hobby. ;-) "

Featured Comment by Glenn Allenspach: "My wife's siblings are scattered about the U.S. these days, so they don't get together but about once a year any more. The last time the five siblings, their Mom, assorted husbands, wives, kids, etc. were all together there was also a birthday. After the birthday cake was carried into the room, Youngest Sister announced to the gathering, 'I just took a picture of the cake and posted it on Facebook!' And they all whipped out their cell phones to look...."

Featured Comment by S. Tammik: "I agree with many of you, that the cover is beautifully designed and effectively communicates an erie message, that an alarming number of us can relate to. For even more critical analysis on the notion that we need to consider not only what technology does for us, but also what its doing to us, I recommend checking out MIT professor Sherry Turkle's recent TED talk and book. She provides great insight into her ideas about how we are 'alone together.'"

Featured Comment by Doug Reilly: "My day job involves sending college students to study in different countries. This cover encapsulates our worst fear, which is that mobile internet means nobody is ever anywhere really."

Featured Comment by lith: "I took a break from university from 2008–2010...the years the iPhone took off in Oz.

"Before, you could wander the quads and halls of QUT, and chat with other random students. Now, in this 'smartphone' era—not a bloody chance.

"Everyone's got earphones in and their iPhone out, oblivious. Attempting conversation is fruitless—there's only one fruit they're worried about. Any attempt is met with a death stare. How dare you interrupt their game of Angry Birds or their Facebooking?

"I try to appreciate the alarming irony—in the age of 'social' media, we've become more antisocial than ever. It's a forest-for-the-trees moment: 'No, I don't want to talk to you face-to-face; I'm trying to impress this person in Peru I've never met before.'

"The most disturbing thing I see is that social media isn't an evolution of socialising, but rather simply the commodification of something we used to do naturally, for free."

The optimist in me is imagining that everyone in the picture is a photo enthusiast, with the 4 subjects of the first photographer focused on taking artsy photos of the shadow in the sand. The teen on the right is just chimping so that he can perfect the shot on his next try. Then they will all pass around their mobile phones and enjoy a real family moment of bonding over their shared hobby. ;-)

My wife's siblings are scattered about the US these days, so they don't get together but about once a year any more. The last time the five siblings, their Mom, assorted husbands, wives, kids, etc. were all together there was also a birthday. After the birthday cake was carried into the room, Youngest Sister announced to the gathering, "I just took a picture of the cake and posted it on Facebook!"

Having lived my childhood in rural areas without phone lines or electricity, forget about internet, I do appreciate modern communications a lot.
This might make no sense to others, but now I love being able to be in touch and share experiences with friends when I'm at remote locations. But the difference might be in that I ENJOY being in remote locations. I`m not so sure about most people who seem to go there to earn some kind of geographical trophy.

Is anybody here old enough to remember the days when a common fixture of comedy was the stereotype of the Japanese tourist?

He was a male, always had a camera on hand, obsessively took pictures of everything, and traveled in gang with other similar males who acted likewise. He would also be obsessed by all sorts of technological gadgets that would keep his attention captured.

Oh! how people could laugh at the odd behaviour, seemingly meaningless activity, and obvious feeling of we-are-so-not-like-him, which was deepened by the sentiment of cultural and racial difference. Them Japanese, they obsessed by theirs Kodaks and theirs gizmos, ain't it?

Most Westerners have now conformed to this stereotype, and we have yet to feel the bite of irony.